11/29/2008
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Staff photo by Joe PhelanBY SCOTT MARTIN
Sports Editor
Brad Brown asked his middle school runners to write a note about what they liked the most about cross country. Many of the Hall-Dale athletes wrote that they liked the post-race cookies or something along those lines.
Wade Davis surprised his coach by writing this:
"I like the exhilaration of the start, the thrill of the race and the exhausted push at the end."
Davis was in the sixth grade when he wrote that note.
"I think that says a lot for Wade's intelligence and his love of the sport," said Brown, who also coached Davis in high school.
Davis carried that same passion for cross country throughout his high school career. This season he capped his terrific career by winning the Mountain Valley Conference, Western C and Class C state titles, while finishing 25th in the New England championships.
For his outstanding season, Davis has been named the Kennebec Journal Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. Cony High School's Luke Fontaine and Erskine Academy's Sam Seekins were also considered.
The improvement Davis has shown over his high school career are a testament to his love and dedication to the sport. He finished eighth as a sophomore in the state championship meet, then established himself as one of the top runners in the state as a junior, winning the MVC and Class C titles.
However, he finished 128th at the New England championship and was determined to win all-New England honors as a senior by finishing in the top 25. A summer of increased mileage helped Davis reach that goal. He finished with a time of 16 minutes, 14.3 seconds at New Englands to finish 25th.
"My coached laid out a pretty specific plan for me that worked really well," Davis said. "He raised my mileage a little bit, to about 45 to 50 miles a week, and I did more speed workouts. Those definitely helped with my footspeed."
At New Englands, Davis was the second fastest Maine runner, behind Brunswick's Will Geoghegan, who finished 24th (16:13.3). Fontaine wasn't far behind with a time of 16:21.5, good for 30th.
"The caliber of competition at New Englands ... you always have some of the top schools in the Northeast," Brown said.
"New Englands are a good opportunity for Wade to show what he is capable of doing against some of the top competition. Sometimes people go to a smaller school and get overlooked. He was a really good representative of the school, the MVC and the state of Maine."
Davis hopes to continue his cross country career in college, but has yet to decide on a school.
Scott Martin -- 621-5618
smartin@centralmaine.com
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